After Professor Duncan and the others had all withdrawn, the atmosphere among the one man and three women became somewhat subtle for a moment.
Only the faint clinking of cutlery against plates remained in the lab. Vera took a small sip of her fruit juice, her azure eyes quietly scanning the room.
Her gaze fell upon the magic projection hovering in mid-air.
Cecilia had clearly said she still had work to handle, yet her gaze constantly drifted from the magic runes on the blackboard... unconsciously toward her older brother.
The reason she was so reluctant to 'disconnect' was likely just to spend a little more time with him...
Moreover, there was one point that Vera found quite concerning.
Every time Cecilia's gaze drifted over, Ansu could sense it immediately. In the brief intersection of their eyes, there seemed to be many things swirling that she couldn't understand...
Her brother was starting to feel a little like a stranger to her.
"Vera?" A gentle voice spoke beside her.
Freya put down her spoon and looked at the somewhat absent-minded Vera beside her. "What's wrong? Is the food not to your liking?"
"Ah, no..." Vera snapped back to her senses and shook her head. "Sister Freya's cooking is excellent. It's completely on par with my brother's."
"I'm glad you like it." Freya gave a soft smile.
Vera watched Freya's gentle profile in silence, thinking to herself: Sister Freya likes my brother too. Does she really not feel any jealousy at all toward that bad woman who keeps monopolizing him...?
...
After a long while, it was Cecilia who broke the silence first.
"You suspect that someone within that Northern Magic Mutual Aid Association... is manufacturing extremely dangerous explosives?"
There was a hint of doubt in her eyes. "It's just a small, low-level organization for mages. Even their strongest member, the president, is only at the mid-tier level. Is it really worth so much of your attention?"
"I think it should be taken seriously." Ansu thought to himself that the mad witch was seriously underestimating the destructive potential of this incident.
That was a terrifying magic weapon that could completely 'erase' the entire city of Norvigel from the map...
Besides, those people also had the stacked buffs of a beer hall, rising prices, and public outrage...
Even without the Squirrel Party's involvement, Ansu felt this place was a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest spark.
"It would be great if we could get a sample of 'Safe Magic Crystal No. 1' to study..." Ansu muttered. "Maybe we could find a way to neutralize it?"
"Why go through all that trouble?" Cecilia snorted, her tone turning harsh. "Just find all the Squirrel Party members and kill them all, wouldn't that be easier?"
Ansu couldn't help but smile. The mad witch's way of handling things was always simple and brutal.
If they could pinpoint every member of the Squirrel Party and eliminate them directly, it would indeed be the fastest way to solve the problem at its root.
"But that's the problem..." Ansu looked at her helplessly and spread his hands.
"The cult's intelligence department can't find a single trace of any Squirrel Party member. Our former ally... seems to have vanished into thin air."
"Are they really hiding that well?" Cecilia frowned slightly, finding it hard to believe.
"If they are operating in Norvigel, they must leave some tracks. The informants we've planted in the city are all experienced executors. How could they fail to dig up even a single useful clue?"
"Well... that's probably because the current 'Squirrel Party' is no longer the same as the old one." Ansu recounted the intelligence David had reported to her. "The entire organization of the Squirrel Party has been taken over by Barcas personally. In other words, we are facing Barcas himself from a distance..."
"Oh..." Cecilia thought of the demon leader whose treasure they had both snatched away, and a faint, mocking smile appeared on her face.
"Speaking of which, Barcas himself... should be in the North as well."
Ansu nodded. According to the original plot, Barcas was indeed gathering strength at the border, waiting for the Empire to collapse so he could swoop in.
It had to be said that this Master of Poaching was not only good at identifying talent but also had excellent strategic vision. The North had many races and many conflicts... it was indeed a good place for secret development.
Of course, if it was suitable for his development, it was also suitable for Ansu's...
After chatting a bit more about the research, Cecilia's gaze drifted past Ansu toward Vera and Freya sitting not far away.
Vera seemed to be complaining about her brother, her vivid expressions making Freya unable to help but cover her mouth and giggle. The two of them were even feeding each other, looking as warm and close as a pair of inseparable sisters.
Cecilia thought silently that the relationship between the two of them was truly getting better and better...
Although she had always wanted to blend into Ansu's family atmosphere, in the end, she still found herself out of place.
Vera didn't seem to like her very much...
"Cecilia?"
Ansu's voice pulled her drifting thoughts back.
"Are you sure you don't want to eat something? This is only the first day of research, and you're already pushing yourself this hard? Go eat something! And then get some rest!"
Cecilia looked at Ansu, who was right in front of her. His nagging urging and the genuine concern in his eyes warmed her heart.
She nodded, the corners of her mouth curving into a soft arc. "But... without you by my side, food feels tasteless to me."
Her voice was very soft, yet it was exceptionally clear in the lab.
Vera and Freya's laughter stopped abruptly, and both of their gazes quietly shifted toward Ansu.
Ansu grumbled inwardly. Whether he was by her side or not, the mad witch's food probably didn't have much flavor... otherwise, why would she add so much salt when she cooked?
Cecilia looked at the exquisite lunch box in Ansu's hand and asked with a smile, "Is it good?"
Ansu nodded. Freya's cooking was always excellent. "Mhm, it's quite delicious."
"I want to eat too," Cecilia added immediately.
Though her tone was still soft, it sounded as if she were deliberately acting spoiled.
"Huh?" Ansu was stunned for a moment as the faint blue magic projection floated to his side. Cecilia watched him with a smile, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Ansu laughed and speared a small piece of pan-seared beef with his fork, playfully offering it to the translucent magic projection. "Then shall I feed you?"
"Okay~"
Cecilia's smile deepened. In the next second, her magic projection vanished instantly.
The lab fell into a brief silence. Vera's eyes widened as she and Freya looked at each other in surprise.
A dozen seconds later, along with a massive surge of mana, Cecilia's graceful figure materialized from the void before their eyes.
"Now..." Cecilia sat down intimately next to Ansu and tilted her face up with a triumphant smile. "You can actually feed me now~"
"Ah..." Vera watched this scene, not knowing what to say.
"I remember Master Danielle saying... Teleportation is a very high-level spell, right? And it consumes a huge amount of mana..."
And she went to all that trouble just to come over and eat a piece of meat fed by her brother?!
After her initial surprise, Freya simply lowered her eyes silently, having already grown somewhat accustomed to such things...
Cecilia's way of doing things was indeed like this.
Sometimes her wilfulness, her directness, made Freya feel a trace of envy...
She averted her gaze, not looking at the incredibly intimate scene between the two of them, and sighed softly. "Alright, Vera... let's continue eating."
"Sister Freya, you..." What Vera found even more incomprehensible was Freya's completely non-contending attitude.
Sister Freya! If this continues, my brother is really going to be snatched away!!
On the other side...
Cecilia leaned half-way against Ansu's side, enjoying his service as a matter of course. Every time she was fed a bite, her eyes narrowed with pleasure.
"Mhm... it really is quite delicious~"
"You used the teleportation node you worked so hard to set up just for this?" Ansu looked at the wilful mad witch with a mix of speechlessness and amusement. He speared a piece of fruit and offered it to her lips. "Come on, open up! Try some fresh fruit!"
Cecilia opened her mouth and lightly bit into it.
"Mm... I didn't come here just to eat. I actually... came to get the research materials!"
Cecilia chewed for a moment, and upon spotting a few scattered manuscripts at the other end of the long table, she immediately said, "Right! I came for those!"
She slowly raised her hand, and those manuscripts drifted gently before her eyes.
Cecilia looked at Ansu's expression, which was written all over with disbelief, and tilted her chin up slightly, emphasizing, "It's true!"
Ansu curled his lip. "Sure... if you say so."
Cecilia let out a giggle.
After satisfyingly enjoying being fed and savoring a moment of rare, undisturbed intimacy, she stood up contentedly and elegantly smoothed her skirt.
"The dinner was well-made!" Cecilia's gaze fell upon Freya, who was dining in silence. With the composure of the mistress of the house, she smiled and said, "It's worth praising, Freya."
Freya looked up, her pale gold eyes calm and unruffled. She returned an impeccable, shallow smile. "Mhm. I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for the compliment."
"You're welcome!" Cecilia's smile widened.
Finally, she winked at Ansu and waved lightly. "Well then, I'll head back to rest first. See you tomorrow~"
Ansu watched her and nodded gently.
"See you tomorrow."
The light of the magic circle flowed once more, and a dozen seconds later, Cecilia's figure vanished from the lab.
Only then...
Vera, who had been watching this preposterous display, looked toward Freya in utter disbelief.
She turned and quickly leaned into Freya's ear. "Shouldn't she be the one thanking you? Sister Freya! How did it end up the other way around?"
Vera looked at her still gentle, seemingly non-aggressive, and clear face, feeling particularly frustrated by her lack of fighting spirit—
Sister Freya was just too kind!
Freya simply shook her head gently and stroked Vera's soft hair.
How could she not understand everything Vera wanted to say to her...?
But in truth, this was her own way of contention.
Rate on N.U.
